Folding clothesrack



I'V/TNESSES H. G. RUNNE.

FOLDING CLOTHESRCK.

APPLlcAloN FILED APR.25.1919,.

'Patented Dea 6, 1921.

'NVENTOR {L'a A TTORNE YS UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY G. RUNNE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW' YORK, ASSIGNOR Ol ONE-HALF TO CHARLESL. TOWNSEND, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

FOLDING CLOTHESRACK.

Application filed April 25,

To LZZ whom 15 may conce/NL:

Be it known that l, HENRY GjR-UNNE, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and State otl New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Folding Clothesracks; and l do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and enact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, torining-a part otthis specification, and to the re'lerence-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to supports and more particularly togarment racksor hangers and it has ior its object to provide a simple,cheap and convenient device of this nature for general use but adaptedmore particularly i'oi' use in closets and hall ways and other placeswhere the operating space is limited. plates provision for theaccommodation of a relatively large number ot articles of clothing insuch a that they are readily accessible but are held flat against thewallV or other support in a manner tn be protected and prevented tro-mwrinkling. To these and other ends the invention resides in certainimprovements and combinations et parts all as will be hereinafter moretuly described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims atthe end ot the specilicaa tion.

ln the drawings:

Figure l is a front view ot a folding clothes rack constructed inaccordance with and illustrating one embodiment oi"l invention, theprotective curtain being in position:I

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the pro-tec tive curtain removed;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side view in vertical section through the curtain,and n Fig. 4f is a top view, enlarged, with the curtain removed and thearms in raised position, portions of the curtain rod being broken away.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesame parts.

In the embodiment shown, the parts are supported on a base board orblock that may be screwed to a wall but which is also provided at thetop with an enlarged eye 2 adapting it to be hung upon an ordinarycloset hook. Secured to this block, as by the screws 3 extending throughits intermediate portion, is a yoke shaped sheet metal Specification ofLetters .Patent The invention contem-` Patented Dec. e, 1921.

1919. Serial No. 292,528.

bracket l forming a pair of forwardly projecting spaced pla-tes 5.Between these plates in an inclined row are pivoted at 6 a plurality otarmsv T, 8, 9, l0 and ll adapted to swing vertically in the same plane.These arms are or progressively increasing length, the inner one llbeing the shorter and the outer one 7 the longer andV at the end of eachis a hook or similar means l2 tor the attachment of a garment hanger 13that may be ot' the usual form. On the intermediate arms, the hooks arelocated on the portions that project beyond the ends of the under armsof shorter length so that these hooks are readily accessible but do notincrease the space ordinarily occupied, collectively, by the armsthemselves.

The arms normally hang folded in the positions of Figs. l, 2 and 3 and,asshown in Fig. 3, the garment hangers 13 then hang vertically inparallelism to each other and to the plane of the wall. It they carryclothing, the garments hang naturally but flat against each other andit' they be bulky, they will simply tend to expand the group of arms andprevent them from folding as flat together as they otherwise would. Toremove the garment hanger or obtain access to particular articles ofclothing on any one arm, the arms are swung upwardly to the dotted linepositions ot Fig. 3 in which positions, the hooks l2 automaticallyseparate because ot the character of the pivotal arrangements andgreater t'ieedom is offered in manipulating thehanger or hangersselected.

.l provide means connecting the arms together for joint movement. lt isconvenient to manipulate all of the arms through the medium of theoutermost arm 7 and to this end, l employ in the present instance, alink 14 pivoted at l5 to said outermost arm and at 16 to the innermostarm ll. At properly spacco intermediate points, the link is providedwith lateral extensions 17 lying between the intermediate arms so that.the latter are lifted or depressed according to the movement of theoutermost arm 7. A link 14; may be provided upon each side of the arms,in which case the extensions 17 may be constituted by bars connectingthese link members.

l also provide means for temporarily re-v i, rality of arms issufficient, so in the present instance, I provide a notch 18 in theoutermost arm 7 which is automatically engaged by a gravity latcli 19 onthe support 1 when the arms are raised to the dotted line position ofFig. 3. rlhe latch 19 may consist, as best shown in Fig. 4, of a wirebail having its ends pivoted at 20` in bearings bored laterally in thebase board 1.

There is a similarly mounted bail 21 held horizontally in the block 1and of a lateral spread sulicient to include the extreme lateral rangeof the hangers 13. This bail is run through the hem of a curtain 22which it sup orts and the curtain hangs over the arms an the garmentssupported thereby and protects them from dust, as shown in Figs, 1 and3. j

I claim is my invention:

1. In a folding clothes rack, the combination with a base board orsupport, ci? a pluivoted thereto in diilerent vertical planes torvertical swinging movement in the same plane, each arm being pro videdwith means for attaching a garment hanger thereto, and means connectingthe arms for joint movement. j

2. In a folding clothes rack, the combination with a base board orsupport, of a plurality of arms pivotedthereto for vertical swingingmovement in the same plane, each arm being provided with means forattach ing a garment hanger thereto and a link pi voted to the upper andlower arms and havingl extensions lying between intermediate armswhereby all of the arms are connected for joint movement. Y

3. In a. folding clothes rack, the combination with a base board orsupport, oi a pinrality of arms of progressively increasing lengthpivoted thereto for vertical swinging movement in the same plane to andfrom a depending and extended position, each arm belng provided withmeans for attaching a garment hanger thereto and the arm pivotedlowermost being the shortest, a link connecting all of the arms forjoint movement and a latch cooperating with the uppermost verticalswinging movement in the same.

plane with each other,each arm being provided at its extremity withmeans 'for the attachment of a garment hanger.

5. In a folding clothes rack, the combination with a base board orsupport and a yoke shaped bracket secured thereto and forming a pair offorwardly projecting spaced plates, of a plurality of arms ofprogressively increasing length pivoted between the plates for verticalswinging movement in the same plane with each other, each arm beingprovided at its extremity with means 'for the tachment of a garmenthanger, means conA necting the arms together i'or joint movement and alatch arranged to swing above the arms and to coperate with theuppermost one to maintain all of the arms in raised position. v

6. In a folding clothes rack, theV combination witha base board orsupport of a plurality of arms of progressively increasing lengthpivoted thereto in different horizoni tal and vertical planes forvertical swinginp `movement in the same plane, each provided with meansJfor attaching a garment hanger thereto, the arm pivoted lowermost beingthe shortest, a connecting link pivoted to the upper and lower arms andcooperating with the intermediate arms whereby all of said `arms areconnected for joint movement, a

position.

HENRY RUNNE.

